This invention refers to tunnel autoclaves, that is, autoclaves of the type in which objects to be treated (for example rubber articles -- such as boots -- to be vulcanised) are fed, in groups and at predetermined intervals, into the interior of the autoclave by means of carriages sliding on at least one guide rail extending through the autoclave.
The presence of guide rails in a tunnel autoclave poses problems of sealing at the inlet and outlet ports of the autoclave.
A known solution described in French Pat. No. 1,339,618 is to provide vertically sliding guillotine doors for closing the inlet and outlet ports of the autoclave, so as to be pivotable in a vertical plane about horizontal axes outside the autoclave, so that they can be moved out of the paths of the doors when the latter are closed.
The pivoting of the rail sections is effected by means of a mechanism controlled, for example, by pneumatic or hydraulic actuators and synchronised with the mechanism controlling the doors so as to obtain correct operation.
The considerable practical difficulties involved in this combined mechanism give rise to a number of disadvantages among which is high cost.
The object of this invention is to provide a device which solves the problem of interference between a moving guillotine door and a guide rail while being extremely simple both in its construction and its operation.